The rest of life
Family
My partner, Joel Bloom, is the Associate Director for Survey Research at
UAlbany's Office for Institutional
Research, Planning, and Effectiveness.
We're both graduates of the University of Michigan's
Department of Political Science;
I received my Ph.D. in 1998 and Joel got his in 2001. He is a real
Michigan political scientist, with expertise in public opinion, voting
behavior, race and politics, and survey research. We have three children, Asher,
Shira, and Zachary, who relieve us of the responsibility for maintaining
any serious hobbies.
Julie, Joel, and the kids at Yosemite, Spring
2006
Politics
My political interests relate in part to my research but encompass a lot
more. These are just a few issues of concern to me in recent
years.
I've been active
within the discipline of political science on LGBT issues. I am involved
in the new Sexuality and Politics section of the American Political
Science Association. I recently served on and chaired the
Committee on the Status of
Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgendered in the Profession. More
broadly, I've worked on the issue of same-sex marriage. Here is an op-ed piece on same-sex marriage written in
2004, when Oregon was considering amending its constitution to ban
same-sex marriage (Measure 36 passed in November 2004). You can
also read my letter to the APSA Council
regarding the potential location of the 2012 annual meeting in New
Orleans. For a scholarly analysis of my take on same-sex
marriage, please see my forthcoming article, "The
Miscegenation/Same Sex Marriage Analogy" in Law and
Social Inquiry volume 33.2.
Another political issue of concern to me is protection for civil and human
rights in the "war on terror." I wrote a quick
analysis of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld immediately after the decision
was announced in the summer of 2006 and continue to watch litigation over
the constitutionality of the Military
Commissions Act of 2006. The Center for Constitutional
Rights has been the real leader on this issue, handling cases on the
behalf of Guantanamo detainees, highlighting abuses in Abu Ghraib, and
seeking to litigate against investigative techniques involving
torture.
Some sites of interests
For all things academic, there's no better place than the Chronicle of Higher Education, though I
also like Inside Higher Ed.
The Chronicle has an interesting set of
discussion forums where you can
get helpful and not-so-helpful advice on nearly anything relating to an
academic career.
For discussions relating to race and ethnic politics in political science,
I recommend the Race
and Politics Blog. Much of the discussion focuses on the academic job
market in this field, but there are occasionally interesting threads on
substantive research questions, methods, and epistemology.
I read and enjoy a number of blogs, too many (and some potentially too
offensive) to list.
I am also intermittently dragged into coaching soccer. Some people seem to
think that AYSO stands for "all your Saturdays occupied,"
but in fact, it's a wonderful program for kids' soccer that is not
hypercompetitive. Teams go in most regions from U6 (starting around age 4
1/2 - 5) all the way through high school and are co-ed. AYSO does
not have an Albany chapter, but I'm back to coaching in the high pressure
environment of K-1 soccer at Southgate Elementary
School and I'm an assistant coach for the
Latham Circle Soccer
Club.